An Italian restaurant owner named Alfredo Di Lelio invented alfredo in the early 1900s. He first created it as a meal for his wife who recently had given birth but was having difficulty stomaching food.
Di Lelio’s wife loved his new pasta dish so much that she recommended it be added as a menu item at his Rome restaurant. Of course, the dish was a huge hit at the restaurant.
The Original Fettuccine Alfredo recipe was made with cheese. The cheese used in the original was Parmigiano-Reggiano. This type of cheese is a hard, aged Italian cheese that is widely considered one of the finest and most flavorful cheeses in the world.
It is made only in the regions of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, part of Bologna, and an area in Mantua in Italy. It is produced from cow’s milk using traditional methods.
Now that we’ve established that the first Alfredo sauce had cheese in it, below you will learn if modern versions of the sauce have cheese. Let’s get into it!
Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce & Cheese
Store-bought Alfredo sauce commonly contains cheese. The most popular cheese used is Parmesan. However, look for Alfredo that is specifically made with Parmigiano Reggiano for an authentic and often more complex tasting sauce.
| Alfredo Sauce | Contains Cheese (Yes or No)? | Type of Cheese Used |
|---|---|---|
| Bertolli – Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese |
| Buitoni – Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Romano Cheese, Parmesan Cheese |
| Classico – Creamy Alfredo | Yes | Parmesan Cheese |
| Del Grosso – Classic Alfredo | Yes | Romano Cheese, Granular Cheese |
| Gia Russa – Garlic Alfredo | Yes | Parmesan Cheese |
| Little Italy in the Bronx – Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano |
| Newman’s Own – Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese Blend, Romano Cheese Blend |
| Orti Di Calabria – Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Pecorino Cheese, Grana Padano Cheese |
| Prego – Homestyle Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese |
| Private Selection – Classic Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese |
| Publix – Creamy Alfredo | Yes | Parmesan Cheese, Parmesan Cheese Flavor Base |
| Ragu – Classic Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese |
| Rana – Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Pecorino Romano Cheese |
| Rao’s – Homemade Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese |
| Simple Truth – Organic Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Organic Parmesan Cheese, |
| Whole Foods – Creamy Alfredo Sauce | Yes | Pecorino Romano Cheese |
Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce Without Cheese
Most store-bought Alfredo sauces you’ll come across will contain cheese as illustrated above. However, there are a few brands that make the sauce without cheese.
Here are some cheese-free Alfredo sauce products you might consider if you’re avoiding cheese:
- Victoria – Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Primal Kitchen – No Dairy Alfredo Sauce
- Simple Truth – Plant Based Vegan Pasta Sauce Alfredo
Restaurant Alfredo Sauce & Cheese
You should expect any Alfredo that you order at a restaurant to contain cheese unless you can verify otherwise. The following popular restaurant fettuccine Alfredo meals are examples of dishes that do contain cheese or dairy:
- Olive Garden – Fettuccine Alfredo
- Carrabba’s – Fettuccine Alfredo
- Maggiano’s – Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
- Buca di Beppo – Fettuccine Alfredo
- Macaroni Grill – Fettuccine Alfredo
- The Old Spaghetti Factory – Fettuccine Alfredo
Homemade Alfredo Sauce & Cheese
The wonderful thing about making homemade Alfredo sauce is that you can dictate what goes in it. Whether or not you add cheese to the sauce is up to you. This article has numerous alfredo sauce recipes without cheese or you can do a simple Google search to find one you like.
Image – Meliciousm, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
